a weblog sharing info on outdoor skills and campfire musing by a guy who spends a bunch of time in pursuit of both
CULTURE
WHERE -
TALES ARE TOLD OF
Welcome to Roland Cheek's Weblog
Roland is a gifted writer with a knack for clarifying reality. Looking forward to more of his wisdom
- Carl Hanner e-mail
Winston Churchill once said: I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
George Bernard Shaw wrote: A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
Or how about this from Pericles in 430 B.C.: Just because you do not take an interest in politics does not mean politics won't take an interest in you.
To access Roland's weblog and column archives
Click Here
Tip o' the Day
Back a few years ago, I wrote a newspaper column advancing the theory that 20 percent of elk hunters take 90 percent of all elk taken. The idea behind that hypothesis is those few elk hunters are the ones who devote sufficient time to understand elk habits and habitats.
Dick Bradshaw, who dwelled in Kremlin, Montana, carried the idea farther in a letter dated Oct. 30, 1995. Perhaps with hunting season but a couple of months away, I should once again share a few excerpts from Dick's letter:
"Those 20% of hunters that shoot 90% of elk, I believe, are not those who feel that heavy magnum rifles are required to kill elk. And they are not the ones who use these cannons to attempt to kill elk at 500 yards. These guns belong primarily to that 80% of hunters who have a one-in-eight chance of killing an elk every five years (but have probably crippled more than one in the same period by blasting across canyons at animals that are too far away to shoot at accurately).
"I have shot competition for most of my life. I have won many awards in trap, in skeet, in smallbore, and have fired more rounds in one year than most people will fire in a lifetime. What this has taught me is simply this: you should not be shooting a gun you cannot shoot well because you are afraid of it. You would never get the 'macho' hunter to admit that his subconscious mind is tell him to flinch. But you ask any competion shooter if he can remember losing a match because he flinched and he will tell you the date, place, and time it occurred. Yet how often do we see a man choose one of these magnum rifles for his 120-pond wife which knocks her earrings off evert tune she pulls the trigger."
Dick summarizes:
"1. A person should only shoot the largest gun that he or she can shoot well. The caliber of the gun [with recoil in mind] should be selected to fit the body stature of the individual.
"2. Practice, practice, pratice. Then practice some more.
"3. Know the capabilities of the rifle. Do not trust to luck that you might actually hit something. You won't.
"4. Know the capacity of the animal to take a misplaced shot and limp away to die a painful death. Realize the importance of passing by marginal shots.
"5. Respect these beautiful creatures. They are our heritage, here for us to enjoy, to hunt, and to watch in all their magnificence."
It's a pity there's no room for Dick's entire letter; he cites many examples, including how he trained his youthful, 80-pound son to became a master marksman. (The man sent along targets grouped by the 12-year-old for my perusal--I'd be pround to shoot so well.
I'm grateful to Dick Brandshaw for taking the time so many years ago to share his knowledge. All of us should pledge to pay attention to the truth when we hear it.
Ethan Lester, the 13-year-old Camarillo, California lad who exchanges e-mails not only says his younger brother is hooked on my Valediction For Revenge Western series, but now he says:
"My dad and my grandma just started reading your books and they love them. Whenever my grandma is over that's all she talks about Jethro and Susan."
The Valediction For Revenge series that Ethan's brother, dad and grandma is reading begins with Echoes of Vengeance
SHIRTSLEEVES TO PARKAS
During a lifetime outdoors, most of which was spent far from roads, luxury, or patronage I've seen some drastic weather changes. A few could've been fatal. A couple nearly were.
That's the thing about Montana: Though she's voluptuously gentle and sensuously sharing, don't take her acquiesence for affection. And never expect to embrace her on your terms, no matter how many demands you're accustomed to satisfying back home--wherever that home may be.
The canny outdoors adventurer in Montana goes prepared for weather extremes. There's a pair of wool gloves and a pullover stocking cap tucked into the bottom of my daypack. There are also slip-on leggings, a down vest, a light windbreaker and a raincoat made of water-resistant fabric. Too, there's a tube of skin cream to combat wind, frostbite, and sun on snow. When I sally forth amid snow or wet grass, I'll probably be wearing gaiters to keep my trouser legs dry. Depending, there might be a hat with a raincover if needed.
Back in my youth, choices were limited compared to today's plethora of products spilling from factories all over the world. Today there are polyester, polar fleece, fiber-filled, and water resistant. And, although one should never swallow all manufacturers' claims (especially when it comes to "breathable" waterproofs), most fabric choices are far superior in lightweight comfort, durability and weather protection to that of yesteryear. In fact, it's a wonder how our forefathers and mothers survived the trek across the Great Plains wearing wool swallowtail coats and cotton print dresses.
Wool, though, carries a certain modicum of late-season native appeal to this native. You see, I've watched my skin wrinkle all too many times when it gets soaked by rain or sweat. If I'm trudging through thigh-deep snow, sweat is a given. Or if a gentle rain begins falling and I'm working hard to reach camp, I'll still get wet from perspiration if I don a raincoat. Then if the temperature begins plummeting, I'm likely to praise the sheep who grew the wool that provided the warp and the woof for my wool clothing because, though I may be wet, with wool I'll still be warm.
Not so with polyester. Not so with down. Not so with Ultrex or Goretex or anythimg else out of Dallas or Houston, or El Paso or Amarillo. But the point is, there's something out there for anyone and everyone. The trick is finding what's right for you under the circumstances you use it, or plan to use it.
Today there's really no excuse for being caught outdoors unprepared. I've got a full-duster raincoat that ties behind my saddle. My down vest condenses into a small stuff sack, and the windbreaker carried in my daypack will tuck easily into a hip pocket. With today's garments, one could almost dress a platoon with clothing taking up no more space than Jim Bridger's buffalo-robe coat. More to the point, that platoon might be better prepared for weather changes than marse Jim, who shed his coat in the summer and donned it in the winter, and the devil take the hindmost.
Today folks even jet ski, or water ski, or raft or kayak in weather that would make a duck blush. They do it by wearing wet suits of skin-tight neoprene for which Bridger would've traded a years harvest of beaver plews.
Talk about nuances! There's a store nearby that sells woolen headbands and wristlets for subtle protection against the elements. The same store peddles thin thermal/wick socks made of a polyester blend that is supposed to offer protction to your feet while wicking moisture away. Does it work? I don't know! Taiwan and Tokyo and Timbuktu is pushing stuff on our market shelves faster than I wish to pull them off.
Besides, I still have an affinity for stuff produced in Pendleton or Poughkeepsie, Shreveport or Seattle. At my advanced age, and dwelling where I do, exposed to the kinds of weather afforded by the Northern Rocky Mountains, I'm sort of reluctant to serve as a guinea pig for experiments produced in Hong Kong or Bangladesh.
One thing is certain, however: the products are out there to permit you to embrace even Montana's bitterest weather. All we need now is enough commonsense to select 'em.
Roland Cheek wrote a syndicated outdoors column (Wild Trails and Tall Tales) for 21 years. The column was carried in 17 daily and weekly newspapers in two states. In addition, he scripted and broadcast a daily radio show (Trails to Outdoor Adventure) that aired on 75 stations from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific Ocean. He's also written upwards of 200 magazine articles and 12 fiction and nonfiction books. For more on Roland, visit:
www.rolandcheek.com
Recent Weblogs
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
for more info about these and other Roland Cheek books
There's a bunch of specific info about Roland's books, columns, and archives. By clicking on the button to the left, one can see Roland's synopsis of each book, read reviews, and even access the first chapter of each of his titles. With Roland's books, there's no reason to buy a "pig in a poke."
for detailed info about each of Roland's books
Read Reviews
Read their first chapters
For interested educators, this weblog is especially applicable for use in history, economic, and government classes, as well as for journalism students.
Roland, of course, visits schools. For more information on his program alternatives, go to:
Books 2 & 3 are set amid New Mexico's violent Lincoln County War
Book four in the Valediction For Revenge series, Gunnar's Mine, is set in Colorado mining country, as is the sixth and final book in the series, The Silver Yoke
Book five in the series is Crisis On the Stinkingwater, and it's set around present-day Cody, in what is now called the Shoshone River Country
I knew you were a good writer, but I never before put you in the class of Michener and Clancy. You spin a good yarn and don't let it drop for a minute. You handle dialogue extremely well, and the action scenes are outstanding. You have no reason to venture so carefully into the world of novelists.
- Jack Oliver / Pittsburgh, PA
to send this weblog to a friend
to tell Roland what you think of his Campfire Culture weblog
source links for additional info
to visit Roland's newspaper columns and weblog archives
NEXT WEEK:
NO PRESSURE LIKE THAT OF BUGLING ELK
www.campfireculture.com
